Snapshots-While She Sleeps
by SHMAC7
Summary: As they sit beside a hospital bed, Eliot shares some stories of his past with Sophie. [Part of 'Snapshots' series, but can be read as a stand alone story.]


**Disclaimer:-** Leverage and it's characters are not mine, I only borrow them.

As they sit beside a hospital bed, Eliot shares some stories of his past with Sophie.

* * *

><p>Beep…..<p>

Beep…..

Beep….

"Talk to her Eliot," he heard as he lifted his head off of his arms, turning slightly to look at Sophie as she spoke "they say people can hear you when they're unconscious, so just talk to her."

Eliot looked back to the pale figure lying in the bed, unable to focus on anything other than the constant beeping and he sighed "I don't know how Soph, I just…." his voice hitched as he dropped his head back onto his arms on the bed, resting beside the hand that had quelled his rage and anger on so many occasions; the one that had soothed away his nightmares so often over the years, and he felt useless.

"I could always tell her anything. She was kina like you, she didn't have to say much, just a little nudge, a gentle push and I was telling her stuff before I even realised it, but now…like this…..I don't know what to say. Don't know if you've noticed but I ain't exactly a talker." he forced a smile in Sophie's direction and her heart broke. Of all the expressions she'd seen on Eliot's face, this was the worst. Her eyes glistened she sat in the chair opposite him "so talk to me. Tell me how you two met. You've known each other a long time, yes?"

He straightened slightly and Sophie could see the wall beginning to come up. Eliot said so little about himself that glimpses into his life were rare. If Colin hadn't tried to blow her up she wasn't sure Eliot would have introduced the young woman whose hospital bed they currently sat beside.

She had met her once before, when everything went wrong with the Blackpoole job but she'd been too distracted by the knife at her throat to take in much information about the woman, other than she was fiercely protective of Eliot, although she wasn't sure Eliot knew about that meeting.

Sophie watched him closely, noticing the internal struggle and the almost defeated sag of his shoulders as he decided to talk. "Ok, Soph….but no getting Hardison to check things out, I'm not gonna give any names you can trace. An' it ain't that I don't trust ya….it's just, that kid, that life….it's not me anymore."

.  
>.<p>

"So it's spring an' I was fifteen. Coach pulls in the squads, guys and girls, and tells us that some people are here to see our skills, an' we're all thinking scouts looking to get us in early for colleges or something….god how wrong were we." Eliot shook his head at the memory, "there's these three guys, 2 o' them in uniform and a teenage girl, some of the guys start eyeing up the girl, showing off an' stuff ya know? So coach bawls them out and starts putting us through drills….."

.  
>.<p>

Sitting on the bleachers she watched everything around her, she was here to observe but she wanted to be anywhere else, every time they did this she always felt like the one on display. Most of the boys in the room were trying to grab her attention in one way or another, but it was the two boys on the far right that weren't bothering with her that held her gaze. They moved symbiotically as if they could read each others minds. They didn't seem to be speaking, but there was definitely a non-verbal conversation there. They were exactly what the men were looking for, but she wasn't going to point that out unless they specifically asked, she didn't want to be here, didn't want to do this, because the programme was wrong.

The group of men had singled out 4 boys and a girl, including the two boys that had held her interest earlier. She was shouted over but when she wasn't moving fast enough one of the men grabbed her upper arm and pulled roughly "Get a move on Girl; we don't have all day to wait for you."

The coach and the two boys she'd been watching earlier were the only ones to make a move, all reaching for her as she stumbled. "Your assessment?" the more important looking of the men in uniform asked her, in a tone that told everybody around them he was used to having his orders followed.

Nodding slightly she motioned to each person as she commented on them.

"Eager to please, too easily manipulated." And the first boy was dismissed.

"No." was all she said for the girl, who looked pissed off that she wasn't getting a reason. "  
>Whatcha mean 'no'? Why the hell not? What's wrong wi' me?"<br>She steadied her gaze at the girl as she spoke "you really want me to tell you? To tell them?" Crossing her arms and nodding, the girl was arrogant "ain't got no secrets, give it yer best shot."

She sighed "fine…you're pregnant." Everyone gasped at the statement but the girl didn't look surprised, she stuttered for a few seconds and ran off to the locker rooms.

"Huh, shocker. Okay Beautiful, what about me?" Turning back towards the captain of the basketball team (who also happened to be the coach's son) she spoke "sorry, you've had things too easy. Athletics, grades, girls, you've used someone else's brains and abilities to get them, probably the first kid."  
>Instead of being surprised he merely plastered on a grin "well, Beautiful ya ain't wrong. What say you let me buy you a burger, to make up for getting me kicked offa whatever this is?" The boy stumbled away, chuckling, when his dad gave him a light slap on the back of the head "ok, ok. See ya around Beautiful." he threw back at her with a wink.<p>

"These two are perfect." She said quietly, and then realising it had been out loud she blushed as did the shorter of the two boys, the taller one smirked. "I mean they're what you've been looking for Colonel."

"Grimes…details." The Colonel motioned to his colleague to take the coach away to get the boys information. "Explain young lady."

"Well, youth and fitness levels aside both have good team skills but can function independently. Good spatial awareness, protective instincts, they're intuitive. Both are courageous, smarter than they let on and have high observation skills. The shorter one may have more of a problem with authority, sorry," she shrugged and smiled apologetically "but he'll still follow orders."

The taller boy chuckled as he nudged his friend "told ya you had 'problems' Lilliput."  
>"Shut up dude." He replied as he nudged back, a smirk appearing when he managed to throw his larger friend off balance.<p>

"Right then lets go see your parents."

.  
>.<p>

"An' that was that. S' how I met her. She wun't wrong about the problem with authority, it just didn't show up till a while later." Eliot explained with a small smile, caught up in a memory. "She looked adorable when she blushed though, still does." Eliot ran his hand gently over her cheek, "don't ya Darlin'?"

Sophie was transfixed, she wanted more "so what was it? What were they looking for? Did you do it? Was the baby yours?"

Laughing he gave her a little more "it was a school….of sorts. I don't exactly know what it was they were looking for, she does but beyond what she said that day, she's never told me. I wasn't supposed to go….I was too young….shoulda waited another 6 months, a year maybe, but yeah…I went."

His brow furrowed as he looked up at Sophie "an' why in the hell would the kid be mine? Hell Soph, I was 15, not stupid." he growled. "Anyway I wasn't supposed to be there….she knew it, she helped me, faked my records, gave me the chance I wanted….it was my first grift I suppose, first time I became someone else. It was when Eliot Spencer was born."

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppppppppppppppppp…..

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**A/N** Thank you for reading


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